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The images captured from satellites and used in services including Google Maps and Bing Maps have until now been limited to 50cm resolution. That means anything smaller than 50cm wasn’t clearly visible. However, in June the US government relaxed licensing restrictions allowing 25cm resolution images to be captured and sold commercially.

Tomorrow, satellite imaging company DigitalGlobe will launch its new WorldView-3 satellite capable of capturing such images, and the customers will be lining up to buy the extra detail.

WorldView-3 will be launched using an Atlas 5 from the Space Launch Complex 3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. If successful, the satellite is expected to have a lifetime of between 7-12 years collecting very high resolution image data of Earth’s surface. It can collect a total of 680,000km2 every day and revisit specific locations multiple times a day.

As well as potentially doubling the resolution of a service like Google Maps, WorldView-3 is expected to be used to discover fresh mineral deposits, monitor disaster areas, research moisture levels in specific locations, and of course help defensive intelligence customers see exactly what’s going on in conflict zones before deciding how to respond.

Higher resolution images means more accurate services, but the trade off is less privacy for individuals. And this is by no means the end. 25cm resolution images may have only just been unlocked for commercial use, but there’s already a push to approve 10cm resolution. That would allow satellite owners to sell images that clearly show something the size of a smartphone laying on the ground.